The Physics Department at Mississippi College offers majors in Physics (B.S.) and Engineering Physics (B.S.). Minors are also offered in both of these fields. Faculty members in the Physics and Engineering Physics programs hold advanced degrees in the fields of physics, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. These faculty members engage in research activities ranging from the study of thermal and radar signatures of terrain and man-made structures, the dielectric properties of soils, the amount of electric charge transferred by lightning flashes, lightning energies, the role of lightning currents in the global electric circuit, Raman spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy.
Engineering Physics Program
The undergraduate program of Engineering Physics at Mississippi College is an applied physics program that combines the theoretical approach of a traditional physics, chemistry, and mathematics program with electrical and mechanical engineering applications. Students completing the coursework required for a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics are well prepared to pursue careers in industry, government, and professional practice in law, medicine, and business administration. Additionally, due to the program's emphasis in many of the core areas of physics and engineering, students may choose to pursue graduate studies in either discipline.
Our program's curriculum has been designed to give students a solid foundation in traditional physics topics such as modern physics, electromagnetism, optics, and thermodynamics. Additionally, the program provides students an opportunity to study engineering applications in courses such as dynamics, strength of materials, fluid mechanics, electrical circuit design, electronics, geophysical methods, and a senior design project that emphasizes independent study. Many of our courses are offered with laboratory components that allow students access to state of the art equipment for further exploration of the concepts discussed in the classroom. Students will also receive training in a variety of computer tools relevant to engineering and science based applications such as Fortran and C/C++ programming languages, Matlab, Microsoft Excel, and PSPICE.
More information about the Engineering Physics program, including complete information about the curriculum and courses offered can be found here: Engineering Physics
Traditional Physics Program
Physics has been called the most basic of the sciences, for it seeks to observe, analyze, and categorize the interactions which occur in our whole physical universe. It is the purpose of the physics department to give the student a thorough understanding of the fundamental facts of physics and to acquaint him or her with the scientific approach to knowledge. Studying physics at Mississippi College trains a person to be a lifetime learner.
More information about the Physics program, including complete information about the curriculum and courses offered can be found here: Traditional Physics